In skin damages, particularly in bedsores extending all over the skin layers, serious skin ulcers, burns, or the like, intensive exudation observed and obstructs skin restoration. In view of this, it is significant to find a measure as to how effectively the exudation is drained and eliminated from the wounded parts in treating such skin damages. In old days, granulated sugar or white soft sugar, which are composed of sucrose, had been used to treat skin damages accompanying exudation.
The sucrose exhibits bacteriostatic action and granulation promoting action particularly in treating bedsores. The sucrose itself is effective in draining the exudation from the wounded parts. It is conceived that these properties of the sucrose may promote tissue restoration. Unlike patch-like protection materials, the sucrose can be into every hole and corner of the wounded parts having complexity in configuration because of its granular form.
Despite the above merit that the sucrose has the action of draining exudation, its absorbability of exudation is poor. Accordingly, it is more likely that the drained exudation may penetrate through the sucrose layer and ooze out of the gauze or the like, with the result that the clothing or the like may be smeared. Further, the oozing of the exudation out of the gauze or the like may not only make patients feel uncomfortable but also constitute a burden for caretakers because the caretakers must clean the peripheral areas of the wounds, the clothing or the like. Therefore, oozing of exudation causes a troublesome issue in actual care and treatment.
In view of the above, there is a demand for a novel preparation for treating wounds that can be into every hole and corner of wounded parts having complexity in configuration for protection, and has exudation absorbability.
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. SHO 61-34829 recites such a preparation for wounds. The preparation contains a gel in the form of dry powder as an ingredient. The gel can absorb and hold the exudation therein. The preparation is convenient because the gel swells by absorbing the exudation, and the powder particles of the gel are rendered viscous and are bound to each other into a viscous material, which allows easy separation from the affected parts. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 9-169655 discloses an external powder preparation for skin ulcers having a similar action as the preparation disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. SHO 61-34829. The powder preparation contains not only a gel (water-swelling cellulose and binding agent) but also sugar and iodophors as ingredients. Therefore, the powder preparation not only exhibits exudation absorbability and usability, but also has preventive effect of invection of bacteria as well as wound-treating effects.
Despite the aforementioned various technical measures, there is a case that sufficient therapeutic effects are not obtainable in treating serious skin damages.
For instance, the conventional therapeutic preparation for wounds employs a water-insoluble gel material as an ingredient. With use of the conventional preparation, adhesiveness among the particles of the gel is increased as the gel material absorbs the exudation to swell. However, such a swelling does not provide firm binding among the particles, and fails to provide usability that the preparation is easily separated as a mass after the use. Particularly, in treating serious wounds which have a relatively great depth and complex configuration, the preparation is likely to be applied too deeply into the wounded parts, and the swollen particles may remain on the wounded parts, because it is difficult or impossible to make a mass having a sufficient strength by mere swelling of the gel in an attempt to increase adhesiveness among the particles. In the case where sugar, a bactericide, or the like is added to promote skin restoration on the wounded areas, the addition of such components may further obstruct the preparation from forming a mass. As a result, it is more likely that part of the preparation may remain on the wounded parts, because the swollen gel is split into parts in removing the mass from the wounded parts after the use of the preparation.
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. SHO 61-34829 recites “in many cases, such a drawback can be completely eliminated by cleaning the wounded part, which is treated”. However, such a cleaning is not desirable, considering daily tasks of caretakers and suffering of bedridden patients.
Eliminating necrotic tissues from the wounded parts is highly effective in treating serious wounds. However, existence of the gel material on the wounded parts from the initial stage of the treatment fails to form a mass having such strength as to adsorb and eliminate necrotic tissues after the use of the preparation.
Furthermore, if the conventional preparation is used in the form of an ointment in an attempt to increase usability in treatment, binding ability among the particles is further lowered, which makes it difficult to eliminate the mass of the preparation after the use. In other words, utilizing the conventional preparation as an ointment is very difficult.
As mentioned above, there is a demand for an external preparation for wounds whose use is highly convenient in actual on-site treatment, and which provides further therapeutic effects in treating serious bedsores, skin ulcers, burns, and the like.
An object of the present invention is to provide a powdery/granular external preparation for wounds to be applied to skin damages accompanying a large amount of an exudation, particularly serious bedsores or the like. The external preparation can be into every hole and corner of wounded parts having complexity in configuration, actively and sustainably lead drainage of the exudation from wounded parts to absorb the exudation without leakage to the outside, substantially form a mass of a gel to protect the wounded parts having such a strength as to adsorb necrotic tissues even in a condition that the other ingredient such as sugar or a bactericide is added, and can be easily separated along with a gauze or the like after the use of the preparation, adsorbing the necrotic tissues.
Use of an ointment containing the above powdery/granular external preparation for wounds as the inventive preparation is advantageous in that it is easy to apply the ointment to the wounded parts because the ointment has good spreadability, in addition to the above properties. Also, such an ointment is easily applied to a gauze or the like. Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to provide an ointment external preparation for treating wounds having high therapeutic effects and usability.